The safest location for a painter is on the ground. Unfortunately, both professional and amateur painters are often called upon to paint high, hard to reach places, such as ceilings or eaves, that are not readily accessible to painters of average height. The use of a ladder is (and has been) the preferred method for facilitating painter access to such difficult and potentially dangerous locations.
It is well known that the use of ladders presents a certain danger of injury to the painter most often caused by a fall. Most such ladder related injuries are directly traced to misuse of the ladder (for example, by placing the ladder on uneven ground or by standing on the top step). In other cases, the painter is accidentally injured while properly using the ladder (for example, by tripping or slipping on the ladder while painting or climbing).
In response to the danger of injury presented by the use of ladders it is commonplace for painters to utilize extension rods, most often in conjunction with paint rollers, to paint high locations such as ceilings and eaves without having to climb a ladder. While adequately painting open, flat locations, paint rollers are not the preferred tool for painting high, delicate or hard to reach places, such as corners, edges, moldings and trim, where controlled paint application is required to achieve satisfactory results. Thus, the painter must still make use of a ladder and a paint brush to finish the painting job.
Accordingly, there is a need for an apparatus that will facilitate the use of a paint brush or other painting apparatus by a painter to access and paint, in a controlled manner, high, hard to reach places such as ceiling corners, edges, moldings and trim.